TheItaly runestonesare three or fourVarangian runestonesfrom 11th-centurySwedenthat tell of warriors who died inLangbarðaland( "Land of theLombards"), theOld Norsename for southItaly.On these rune stones it issouthern Italythat is referred to[1](Langobardia), but theRundataproject renders it rather anachronistically asLombardy(see the translations of the individual stones, below).
The rune stones are engraved inOld Norsewith theYounger Futhark,and two of them are found inUpplandand one or two inSödermanland.
The memorials are probably raised in memory of members of theVarangian Guard,the elite guard of theByzantine Emperor,and they probably died while fighting in southern Italy against the localLombardprincipalities or the invadingNormans.[1]Many of their brothers-in-arms are remembered on the 28Greece runestonesmost of which are found in the same part of Sweden.
The young men who applied for a position in the Varangian guard were not uncouth roughnecks, as in the traditional stereotype, but instead, it appears that they were usually fit and well-raised young warriors who were skilled in weapons.[2]They were the kind of warriors who were welcome as the elite troops of the Byzantine Emperor, and whom the rulers ofKievan Rus'requested fromScandinaviawhen they were under threat.[2]
Interpretations
edit
Johan Peringskiöld(d. 1720) considered theFittja stoneand theDjulefors stoneto refer to theLombardmigration from Sweden, whereas Celsius (1727) interpreted them in a strikingly different manner. He noted that the nameLongobardiawas not applied to Italy until after the destruction of theKingdom of the Lombardsin 774. He claimed that the kingdom had been taken over by Varangians from Byzantium in the 11th and 12th centuries, and noted that inBarbarossa's campaign in Italy there were many Scandinavian warriors. The stones would have commemorated Swedish warriors who died in Barbarossa's war.[3]This view was also espoused by Brocman (1762) who considered Holmi to have died in the 12th century for either the Byzantine Emperor or ruler of theHoly Roman Empire.[4]
Von Friesen (1913) noted that it is notLombardyin northern Italy that is intended butLangobardiain southern Italy, which was ruled by theByzantine Emperorduring the 11th century. The Greeks had to fight severalbattles against the Normansin Southern Italy during the mid-11th century. It is likely that Holmi, who is mentioned on two stones, took part in these battles as a member of the Byzantine Emperor's elite unit, theVarangian Guardsince they use a name based on the Greek name for the region.[5]
The runestones
editBelow follows a presentation of the Italy Runestones, organised according to location. Thetranscriptionsfrom runic inscriptions into standardisedOld Norseare in Old East Norse (OEN), the Swedish and Danish dialect, to facilitate comparison with the inscriptions, while the English translation provided by Rundata give the names in the standard dialect, Old West Norse (OWN), the Icelandic and Norwegian dialect.
Transliteration and transcription
editThere is a long-standing practice to writetransliterationsof the runes into Latin characters withboldfaceand transcribe the text into a normalized form of the language withitalic type.This practice exists because the two forms of rendering a runic text have to be kept distinct.[6]By not only showing the original inscription, but also transliterating, transcribing and translating, scholars present the analysis in a way that allows the reader to follow their interpretation of the runes. Every step presents challenges, but mostYounger Futharkinscriptions are considered easy to interpret.[7]
In transliterations,*,:,×,'and+represent commonword dividers.Parentheses,( ),represent damaged runes that cannot be identified with certainty, and square brackets,[ ],represent sequences of runes that have been lost, but can be identified thanks to early descriptions by scholars. A short hyphen,-,indicates that there is a rune or other sign that cannot be identified. A series of three full stops...shows that runes are assumed to have existed in the position, but have disappeared. The two dividing signs| |divide a rune into two Latin letters, becauserunemastersoften carved a single rune instead of two consecutive ones.[8]
Angle brackets,< >,indicate that there is a sequence of runes that cannot be interpreted with certainty. Other special signs areþandð,where the first one is thethornletter which represents avoiceless dental fricativeasthin Englishthing.The second letter isethwhich stands for avoiced dental fricativeasthin Englishthem.Theʀsign represents theyr rune.[8]
Nomenclature
editEvery runic inscription is shown with its ID code that is used in scholarly literature to refer to the inscription, and it is only obligatory to give the first two parts of it. The first part is one or two letters that represent the area where the runic inscription appears, e.g. U for theUppland,Sö forSödermanlandand DR forDenmark.The second part represents the order in which the inscription is presented in the official national publications (e.g.Sveriges runinskrifter). ThusU 133means that the runestone was the 133rd runic inscription in Uppland that was documented inSveriges runinskrifter.If the inscription was documented later than the official publication, it is listed according to the publication where it was first described, e.g.Sö Fv1954;22,whereSörepresents Södermanland,Fvstands for the annual publicationFornvännen,1954 is the year of the issue ofFornvännenand 22 is the page in the publication.[8]
Uppland
editThere are two rune stones in Uppland that mention Italy. They were raised by the same lady in memory of her son.
U 133
edit
Runestone U 133 (location) is instyle Pr3,[9]part of the more generalUrnes style.The stone has been split into two parts that are walled into the southern exterior wall ofTäbychurch, near the ground. The larger fragment, which was originally the upper part of the runestone, is in the western wall of the old porch which is constructed at the church's southern side.[10]The smaller fragment is upside-down in the southern wall of the porch. Both fragments are partly in the soil which means that it is necessary to remove some soil in order to read the entire inscriptions. The larger part was known as early asJohannes Bureus(1568–1652) and it was also studied byJohan Peringskiöldduring the national search for historic monuments (1667–84) and byOlof Celsiusin 1727. However, the smaller part was not noticed by scholars until 1857, when it was documented byRichard Dybeck,who initially believed that the parts did not belong together. He corrected this interpretation in hisSverikes runurkunder(1865) where he made a depiction of how they would have looked before they were split.[11]
The fragments are in reddishgraniteand larger part measures 1.02 m (3 ft 4 in) in height and 0.86 m (2 ft 10 in)–1 m (3 ft 3 in) in width, while the smaller one is 0.45 m (1 ft 6 in) tall and 1.23 m (4 ft 0 in) wide.[11]It probably formed a twin monument together withU 141on the estate of Fittja, before it was moved to the church to be used as building material in the mid-15th century.[11]
Both this runestone and U 141 are identified by von Friesen andErik Brateas the production of therunemasterFot.They were commissioned by Guðlaug in memory of her son Holmi who had died inLangbarðaland.[5]Peterson (2002) identifies Guðlaug with the one who commissionedSö 206andSö 208,[12]while Pritsak (1981) identifies her as Ónæmr's daughter who is mentioned onU 328.He further considers Holmi's father to be Özurr who is mentioned on U 328 andU 330.[13]
+
kuþluk
Guðlaug
*
lit
let
...
[ræisa
...
stæina
...
at
...a
Holm]a,
×
sun
sun
*
sin
sinn,
*
auk
ok
*
at
at
*
sik
sik
*
sialfa
sialfa.
*
han
Hann
*
to
do
*
a
a
lank*barþa*l--ti
Langbarðal[an]di.
*
"Guðlaug had the stones raised in memory of Holmi, her son, and in memory of herself. He died in Lombardy."[9]
U 141
edit
Runestone U 141 (former location) formed a monument together with U 133, and it was raised by the same grieving mother in memory of her son.[13][14]It was first documented byJohannes Messenius,in 1611. He appears to have learnt about the runestone fromJohannes Bureusas both of them misspelt the nameHolmiby letting themprecede thel.Aschaneus (1575–1641) made a note that the runestone was to be seen at the estate of Fittja near Täby. It was also documented by Peringskiöld in hisMonumenta,and visited by Celsius in 1727. However, it later disappeared and bothRichard Dybeckand later Erik Brate searched for it in vain. However, in 1933, a fragment with the final three runes were discovered during the installation of heating equipment in the cellar of the estate. The granite fragment, which measures 0.45 m (1 ft 6 in) in height and 0.38 m (1 ft 3 in) in width, has been raised in the garden of Fittja.[14]
[kuþluk
Guðlaug
×
lit
let
*
raisa
ræisa
*
staina
stæina
*
at
at
*
hulma
Holma,
*
sun
sun
*
sin
sinn.
*
han
Hann
*
to
do
*
a
a
*
lank*barþa*la(n)ti
Langbarðalandi.
×]
"Guðlaug had the stones raised in memory of Holmi, her son. He died in Lombardy."[15]
Södermanland
editThere are two rune stones that mention Italy in Södermanland. However, one of them only saysLa-,having lost the series of runes that followed. However, the rune stone informs that the location was on the Eastern route, andLangbarðalandis the only knownOld Norseplace name on the Eastern route that begins with these two runes.
Sö Fv1954;22
edit
Runestone Sö Fv1954;22 (original location) is in reddish grey and fine grained granite, and it was found in 11 pieces on a small hill about 300 m (980 ft) south-west of the village Lagnö, in 1949. At the location, the land slopes towards the former sailing route Eldsundet, where there once was amedieval assembly location.A house had once been in the same spot and it is likely that the runestone had been used as material in its stone foundation, or in a stove. The stone was moved to a conservation institute in Stockholm where it was mended but it was impossible to make a complete runestone out of it. In 1953, Jansson visited the location and he managed to retrieve some more fragments, adding up to a total of fifteen pieces. However, only twelve could be put together. The largest fragment is 1.40 m (4 ft 7 in) high, 0.65 m (2 ft 2 in) wide and 0.33 m (1 ft 1 in) thick, whereas the second largest one is 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in) high, 0.25 m (9.8 in) m wide and 0.33 m (1 ft 1 in) thick. The expressioni austrvegi( "on the eastern route" ) also appears on the runestonesSö 34andSö 126in the same province, where it figures in poems infornyrðislag.The last word in the inscription, which tells where the commemorated man died, is partly lost, but Jansson (1954) notes that it was probablyLangbarðalandas it begins withLa-.[16]The fragments are presently stored inside theSwedish History MuseuminStockholm.[17]
...i
...
:
risti
ræisti
:
---...
...
...
...
...in...
...
...
...
sin
sinn.
:
han
Hann
:
iʀ
eʀ
:
entaþr
ændaðr
:
i
i
:
austruiki
austrvegi
:
ut
ut
:
o
a
:
la-...
La[ngbarðalandi](?).
"... raised............ his. He met his end on the eastern route abroad in Lombardy(?)."[17]
Sö 65
edit
Runestone Sö 65 is instyle Pr1(Ringerike style)[18]and it was documented at the farm Djul(e)fors during the national search for historic monuments (1667–84).[19]It is nowadays in the south-eastern end of the park of Eriksberg palace (location). It measures c. 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) in height. Brate & Wessén commented (1924–1936) that a third of the stone had been lost to its left and that it was 0.71 m (2 ft 4 in) wide at its base and 0.63 m (2 ft 1 in) wide at the top.[20]Rundata2.5 reports that a missing part was discovered in 1934,[18]andSwedish National Heritage Boardincludes the rediscovered part in the stone's dimensions reporting its width to be 1.06 m (3 ft 6 in).[21]
Sophus Buggenoted in hisRunverserthat the expressionarði barði( "ploughed his stern" ) also appears in the IcelandicThird Grammatical TreatisebyÓláfr Þórðarson,and as well in a verse by theOrkney jarlRögnvald Brusason.He also commented that the epitaph is in the meter thatSnorri Sturlusoncalledhinn skammi háttr.Furthermore, he added that since seafaring played an important role in the lives of allNorse peoples,it would only be natural if they had many poetic expressions likearði barðiin common[20](cf.Sö 198).
[inka
Inga
:
raisti
ræisti
:
stain
stæin
:
þansi
þannsi
:
at
at
:
ulai](f)
Olæif
:
sin
sinn
:
[a...k]
...
:
han
Hann
:
austarla
austarla
:
arþi
arði
:
barþi
barði
:
auk
ok
:
o
a
:
lakbarþilanti
Langbarðalandi
:
[anlaþis
andaðis.
+]
"Inga raised this stone in memory of Óleifr, her... He ploughed his stern to the east, and met his end in the land of the Lombards."[18]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ab2. Runriket - Täby KyrkaArchived2008-06-04 atarchive.today,an online article at Stockholm County Museum, retrieved July 1, 2007.
- ^abLarsson 2002:145.
- ^Wessén 1940–1943:207.
- ^Wessén 1940–1943:208.
- ^abWessén 1940–43:199.
- ^Antonsen 2002:85.
- ^Att Läsa Runor och RuninskrifterArchived2007-06-15 at theWayback Machineon the site of theSwedish National Heritage Board,retrieved May 10, 2008.
- ^abcRundata 2.5 for Windows.
- ^abEntry U 133, inRundata2.5 for Windows.
- ^Wessén 1940–43:197.
- ^abcWessén 1940–43:198.
- ^Peterson 2002, entryGuðlaug.
- ^abPritsak 1980:392.
- ^abWessén 1940–1943:206.
- ^Entry U 141, in Rundata 2.5 for Windows.
- ^Jansson 1954:21–25.
- ^abEntry Sö Fv1954;22, in Rundata 2.5 for Windows.
- ^abcEntry Sö 65, in Rundata 2.5 for Windows.
- ^Brate & Wessén 1924–1936:49.
- ^abBrate & Wessén 1924–1936:50.
- ^Entry RAÄ-nummer Stora Malm 20:1 at Fornsökon the site ofSwedish National Heritage Board,retrieved 03-06-2009.
Sources
edit- Brate, Erik;Wessen, Elias(1924–1936). "Sveriges Runinskrifter: III. Södermanlands Runinskrifter".Sveriges Runinskrifter(in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien.ISSN0562-8016.
- Jansson, Sven B. F. (1954)."Uppländska, Småländska och Sörmländska Runstensfynd"(PDF).Fornvännen(in Swedish).49.Swedish National Heritage Board:1–25.ISSN1404-9430.Retrieved15 September2010.
- (in Swedish)Larsson, Mats G (2002).Götarnas Riken: Upptäcktsfärder Till Sveriges Enande.Bokförlaget Atlantis ABISBN978-91-7486-641-4
- (in Swedish)Nordisk runnamslexikonby Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen).
- Pritsak, Omeljan.(1981).The Origin of Rus'.Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.ISBN0-674-64465-4
- Wessén, E.; Jansson, Sven B. F. (1940–1943). "Sveriges Runinskrifter: VI. Upplands Runinskrifter del 1".Sveriges Runinskrifter(in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien.ISSN0562-8016.
- Rundata2.5/Samnordisk Runtextdatabas.Elmevik, L. & Peterson, L. (2008). Institutionen för Nordiska Språk, Uppsala Universitet
- (in Swedish)2. Runriket - Täby Kyrka,an online article of theStockholm County Museum,retrieved July 1, 2007.